Well, I Never!
by mymuseandi
Summary: Young Sam pleaded with Dean to save his friend Timmy from his fate.


A/N: Beta'd by Birdie (Bev). Thanks a lot honey...it'll be worse without you... Originally for Snville's "Angela, Get Well!" Challenge, and i thought to post it here and see how it goes.

S/N: This is pre-series, so no spoilers.

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"Dean, Dean!"

Dean looked up from the homework that he was trying to finish. _Trying_ being the keyword here, because, after an hour, he did not make much headway with the English paper that he was supposed to be handing up the next day. He decided that his baby brother had provided the perfect excuse and distraction that he was searching for right now.

"What is it, Sam?" he called out, closing his book and stuffing his pen into his pocket.

Sam had reached his side by then. His face was flushed, and he was panting slightly. His tee was sticking to his back, and his hair looked more unruly than usual. Other than that there were no visible injuries on him that Dean could see. He relaxed his 'big brother' stance a little. Whatever is was that was causing Sam's distress it didn't seem too serious and anyway what trouble could the little guy get into when Dean was right here with him?

"Dean, Timmy climbed up a tree and now he's too scared to come down! You've got to climb up there and get him!" Sam explained while taking hold of Dean's arm and started pulling him toward the offending tree. Ahead, a group of boys about Sam's age were clustered and they were looking at Dean's direction anxiously. Dean dug his heels and pulled Sam back slightly. He wanted to know what was going on before deciding anything. Sam's small body jerked back and he halted, turning wide, pleading blue-greens on his big brother.

"Dean, we have to hurry! Timmy's been up there for ages! I think he's getting really scared. None of us can climb up the tree 'cuz it's so tall. You're the only one who can!" Sam pleaded with his brother, his eyes growing impossibly wider. But lurking within the pleading look, Dean also recognized a hint determination, a deep desire to go to the rescue of his friends, and whoever else needed it. Sam was a regular Boy Scout, and he didn't even know Boy Scouts existed yet. Dean would bet his latest Batman comic that Sam would love to join up if he could.

With an internal sigh, Dean allowed himself to be led to the farthest part of the playground. He continued his interrogation of Sam as they drew closer to the tree and its reluctant occupant.

"Why did Timmy climb up the tree anyway? Did you guys have a dare or something?"

"I think he wanted to catch a bird. We have to get him down, Dean. Josh's mother won't let him climb trees to get him and I told him that you could do it. I told him you could save Timmy and that you could do anything." Sam willed his legs to move faster. They couldn't leave Timmy up in the tree any longer than was absolutely necessary.

_Who is Josh? And catch a bird? _Why would anyone want to climb a tree to catch a bird was beyond Dean. There are other more interesting things to do than that. As he neared the large oak tree where the rest of the children were, he saw a tiny boy with tears in his eyes, while the rest of the boys were surrounding him. Josh, he presumed. And then he heard a loud mewl. Dean looked up to the tree's branches.

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Sam looked on earnestly. Timmy kept on mewling softly. He looked so pitifully sad that Sam's heart went out to him. He turned to Dean, wanting him to fix the situation. After all, big brothers could fix _anything_.

"Dean? Can you help Timmy?"

Dean looked from the tree to Sam, amusement plain on his youthful face. His mouth curled up into a grin, showing his dimples, and his hazel eyes alight with humour. Much as Sam liked to see his brother smiling, he really couldn't see what was so funny about the whole situation. Timmy was stuck up a tall tree and only Dean was old enough and tall enough among them to climb up. They had to rescue Timmy!

"Timmy's a cat?" That was the first thing that came out of Dean's mouth.

Sam nodded, still frowning. Did that mean Dean didn't want to help? He wouldn't do that just because Timmy was a cat and not a boy, would he?

"Well, at least Timmy's not stuck in the well." Dean grinned. Sam's frown deepened. _In a well? _

"Never mind." Dean handed his book to Sam and strode towards the tree, muttering under his breath. Sam watched as his friends cleared a path for Dean to walk through. When he reached the tree, Dean grabbed the lowest branch, hauled himself up and started to climb. He reached the branch that Timmy was stuck up on, and crawled slowly towards the cat.

Sam and his friends shuffled closer to the base of the tree. Josh sniffled but stopped his sobbing. From below, Sam could hear Dean talking softly to Timmy, all the while moving closer to the cat. No one spoke a word, afraid that they might break the silence and interrupted Dean's concentration. When Dean was near enough, he stretched out his left hand. Without a warning, Timmy swiped a claw at the outstretched hand. Dean snatched back his limb, wavering for a second, as Sam and the assembled audience sucked in a collective breath.

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Dean wobbled. For a moment, he focused his concentration on not falling off the tall bough. _The stupid tree which the stupid cat got himself stuck on_. _But at least he didn't fall into a well. _That would be indeed harder for Dean. As it was, he could see his left arm littered with red lines that were beginning to sting.

Finally, he managed to centre himself and found his balance. He could hear Sam and the rest of his posse let out their breaths collectively. Dean would have snorted if he didn't feel the same relief they did. He did not want to fall, and more importantly, he did not want to explain to his father why he was up a tree in the first place. With any luck, he could get Timmy down without any more injuries.

Dean carefully extended his arm again. He pitched his voice lower and tried to calm Timmy down before he added more scratches cuts to his already injured limb. There was no need to injure himself any further if he could help it.

"Here kitty, kitty. Come on, Timmy. Just let me get you down here and we can stay away from each other." Dean kept up the stream of chatter and with an exaggerated slowness he managed to hook an arm over the small amber feline. This time, instead of just a swipe, Timmy went the whole nine yards and struggled against Dean, sharp claws and pointed fangs all coming into play.

"Ow, you freaking cat!" Dean struggled against the harassed feline, muttered a few choice words about the animal in his grasp, and began his descent.

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As soon as Dean's feet touched the ground, Sam breathed out another huge sigh of relief. He hurried towards his brother, who was already handing over Timmy to Josh. Dean straightened up and opened his mouth to speak. Without hesitation, Sam threw his arms around Dean's waist and squeezed. Dean grunted.

"Oompf. Sammy….."

"Sam looked up into his brother's face. "Thanks Dean! You're the best big brother ever!"

Dean's mouth curved into a small smile. He ruffled Sam's hair. Sam was so pleased he didn't even object to that usually irritating act. He shifted his attention to Dean's arm, and the pattern of fresh scratches marking his skin. There were also some bite marks on his arm. Before Sam could say a word, Dean pulled away from the embrace and hastened to assure Sam.

"Relax, Sam. It's only scratches. They don't even hurt. Quit worrying."

"You sure they don't hurt, Dean? They looked painful."

Dean nodded his head. Sam's concerns lightened. He turned to his friends and was surprised to find most of them right behind him, with Josh leading the pack. Timmy was on the ground beside him. Josh spoke up.

"Thank you, Dean. Thank you for saving Timmy. You're the best!" Mimicking Sam, he hugged Dean. A second later, Dean the rest of the boys threw their arms around Dean. Soon, Dean was enclosed in a group hug. It was funny, the way Dean was squirming to get out of the embrace. Sam beamed at Dean's antics. It was funny to see his brother, who didn't like hugs, to be enfolded by a group of five year-olds. After a few minutes, his big brother managed to extricate himself from the boys and moved a few steps away to create a distance. Undaunted, Max, one of the most hyper-active boys Sam had ever seen, sidled up to Dean and declared boldly.

"Dean, can you be my big brother too?"

Sam scowled at Max's declaration. He told his friends at the playground about Dean because he was proud of him, but that didn't mean that he wanted to share his big brother. Dean was his. There was no way he was sharing what was his with other people. Fortunately, it seemed Dean shared the same sentiment with Sam.

"I don't think so, kid. Having one Sam around is the same as having three kid brothers. I don't think I can cope with any more."

"I don't think your big sister would want to share with Dean, Max. And we all have our own family." Josh interrupted while picking up Timmy. He stroked Timmy's fur tenderly, all the while crooning softly to the cat he so obviously loved. Timmy mewled his satisfaction and settled against his owner.

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_Wise words coming from a five year-old_. Dean cleared his throat, snatched his book from Sam and draped an arm over his baby brother's shoulders. "Well, it's been fun guys, but we've gotta go. Come on, Sam. Dad'll be back soon, and if we were not there he'd be wondering where we are."

Sam waved his friends goodbye and both of them walked towards the motel where they were staying. Sam was quiet for a spell, and Dean was content to let the silence stand. However, the peace didn't last long, and Sam's voice broke the quiet.

"Dean, you wouldn't really want to be Max's brother right?" Sam looked at him, questioning.

Dean smiled. His brother might be occasionally infuriating, and God only knows what was going on in his head sometimes, but there was no way he wanted to trade Sam for anyone else in the whole world. He'd take Sam any day, annoying and all.

"I'm afraid that you're stuck with me, Sammy. And I'm stuck with you. And we're stuck with Dad. That's what families are for. We stick together."

"We stick together…." Sam repeated softly. He leaned towards Dean and grinned. Of course he was sticking with Dean. There's no one else he'd rather stick with. Another thought occurred to him.

"Dean, what do you mean, at least Timmy's not stuck in a well?"

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A/N: That's it! My very first fic posting. Feedback is welcome very much!!


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